I am looking at starting up a Adventure Island/Tandem Island group for the Southern Part of the Chesapeake Bay.

The Hobie Islands are great boats. I know that there are several boats in my area. Over the years I have stumbled over only a few on the water. By having a local group we can coordinate our efforts and at the same time promote these boats. I have talked to my local Hobie dealer, Wild River Outfitters and they support the idea.

I live in Virginia Beach. If you live in the southern reaches of the Chesapeake Bay or North East North Carolina, let me know. Hobie sailors passing through the area are also welcome.

They are really "semi" dry suits as they don't have a latex gasket around the neck which I like. If the neck gaskets on a full dry suit are anything like the wrist gaskets on these, I don't think I could stand to wear them.

It doesn't matter, all it takes is hitting the water one time in water that is in the mid thirties for me to be quite happy with the purchase.

Well, that isn't true, I'm happy with the purchase anyway .... they are comfortable, warranted for life, we stay bone dry and warm in them and best of all we have the peace of mind of knowing we can survive an extended period in near freezing water.

Seabowz, a new Hobie AI owner took his brand new AI for her maiden voyage this weekend. I accompanied him to document and help him settle into his new boat. It is good to have another Island Sailor in the area. He is already talking about Watertribe. Looks like a double hit...

As K-7 says, waders won't do you much good and could be dangerous. I became convinced after watching the Watertribe EC this year, that a dry suit is necessary for a something like the EC--very long days on the water including after dark, and multiple days of such conditions.

I would think up in Virginia Beach, a dry suit might come in handy much of the time. In this year's EC, Pelican complained about being wet and cold immediately at the start of every day even with his dry suit on. You may want to check out dry suits carefully, if you buy one. Inexpensive may not be the way to go.

Keith

_________________2015 AI 2, 2014 Tandem

"Any intelligent fool can make things bigger and more complex ... It takes a touch of genius and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction." A. Einstein

This past weekend I took several boats from Grandview island across the Chesapeake to the Eastern Shore and up to Mockhorn Island. Several want to compete in the next Watertribe North Carolina Challenge. There were 6 people, 5 boats: 3 Hobie AI's, a Triac sailing kayak and a Prindle 18 Catamaran. The weather was awful, hot and no wind. Cross currents kept sweeping us off course. Peddling the whole time. A great training run for the NCC. You make it through this and the NCC will be a piece of cake. I will post a few pictures and video when I get the time. CleanSlate on the Triac posted this short video:

If you fall in wearing waders you will drown. They will fill with water and you will not be able to get back in the boat with an extra hundred pounds of water in your clothes.J

This actually is an inaccurate statement. The design of waders actually compresses the material to your body to prevent a massive inflow of water. If yours doesn't then you are most likely wearing an older rubber style set. My set is a pair of Frogg Toggs breathable ones with the 2.5mm neoprene booties. As soon as I step into the water to launch my kayak, the material begins to constrict slightly, plus anyone with experience using waders knows that you don't use waders by themselves.

You need to wear a paddling top and a wading belt in conjunction with your PFD when heading out in colder water temps. Base layers and fleece are standard fare for any serious cold weather kayak angler. I fish throughout the year in the Chesapeake Bay including when water temps are in the low 40's and air temps are in the 30's.

If you are in doubt, then watch the following......

and here is one for cold water with Ric Burnley and Kevin Whitley both well respected kayak anglers in the Chesapeake Bay......

The key is understanding how your respective gear functions together. In the last video segment where Ric wears only waders, you'll notice that he was wearing a set of waders that did not have a method of closing the top portion. I wear a set of waders that has not only the wading belt but also a lanyard system to close the top opening as well. While waders by themselves are not the best option, you can clearly see that you will not perish if you are wearing your PFD.

Yup, I found out today that you DON'T drown if you fall in while wearing waders.. Stupid silly little error on the edge of a sandbank. With a very strong tidal outflow, I found myself on the wrong side of a sandbar, with the prospect of being swept under a nearby bridge, unfortunately where clearance is less that my 5 metre mast.

So I made the simple decision to pull into the sandbank, and walk the Tandem Island about 50 metres to where the current would send me round an through the higher spans.

So I was "walking the dog" in the shallows, pulling the kayak behind me on my 10 metre anchor line. Next thing there was a bed of seagrass, and all of a sudden the bottom went ridiculously muddy, as well as sloping at something like 45 degrees. Oops! Over I went, and lost the line to the kayak! First thought was imagining the kayak being swept under the bridge and ripping the expensive carbon mast off, so I swam like a lunatic until I grabbed hold of the kayak.

I could swim quite easily really, and my waist belt seemed to keep most of the water out of my legs (probably a litre of water down each leg, despite being fully immersed at one point). When I stood up on the sandbar and leant forward a torrent of water poured out of the >top< of my waders, and I tipped forward to help, and I swear I had about 10 litres of water in the top half of the waders, trapped by the belt. Bewdy.

I was wearing an inflatable PFD1, which wasn't inflated, plus just a normal polo shirt (no special top)and I was very impressed with how easy it was to move around in the water.

10 out of 10 for waders in kayaks! Thoroughly recommend the Caddis breathables. In the summer, I am confident enough to for for a 50 metre swim